When we think about the incredibly complex process of becoming a mother, it is truly amazing. A mother’s womb becomes the vessel in which each person is shaped in preparation for their birth into the world. What a strange method God has chosen to bring us into the world, to be formed and carried inside the body of another! Would we as human beings have ever thought of that, let alone been able to design a woman’s body so that she is able to act as host for another human being? It is altogether bizarre, incomprehensible and quite simply mind-boggling! Yet our God has done just that! Sadly many give credit for such a miraculous process to the randomness of nature. Some, recognising the wonder of nature, foolishly elevate the works of nature to a position reserved for the Creator alone.

Diana was a goddess worshipped, both by Greeks (who called her Artemis) and Romans, as a mother and foster-mother. She was seen as a fertility goddess and was honoured by many groups of people in the ancient world including the Ephesians. The Apostle Paul encountered their absolute devotion to this false god in Acts chapter 19. It is sad to think that even in the Christian faith, some, professing the Christian faith, have gone overboard in their acknowledgement of Mary as Jesus’ mother. Marian veneration teaches that Mary is the Mother of God and also the Mother of the Church. This belief elevates Mary to a position of authority and honour in the church that goes beyond the teaching of Scripture. 

Motherhood is an amazing blessing and it is obvious that humanity recognises the wonder of the biological process of motherhood. However it is also obvious that our appreciation of motherhood can become twisted, and as Romans 1:25 says, “They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served created things rather than the Creator – who is forever blessed.”

I’m thankful for Mothers’ Day and I’m thankful for my mother, an ordinary person, who became a vessel to incubate and give birth to another human being. Thank God for mothers and motherhood - what a truly amazing thing being a mother is! I am also in awe of God who is the Master Designer - no wonder King David, when he reflected upon these things was filled with awe at God and wrote: “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body.” Psalm 139:14-16a

Praise God for our mothers!